by Lester Anderson
“Gandle Follows His Nose” by Heywood Broun (Boni & Liveright 1926). Our
Scripps-Howard correspondent turns out a short allegorical fantasy
which concerns itself with the adventures of one Bunny Gandle who, when
18 years of age, was taken, by his uncle, to the sorcerer Boaz,
wherefrom he managed to escape with the cape of invisibility. We travel
with him to strange lands. We hear of his finding and the subsequent
loss of the magic lamp, his victory over the God Kla, the repulsion of
the armies of King Helgas, and his sojourn in the Land of the Flying
Sword. We meet our old friend, Yom, the genie who is much perturbed
when Gandle orders him to bring a poached egg, of all things. Yom,
incidentally, tenders young Gandle some sage advice concerning Life
which the youth cannot grasp. Who can blame him, as the genie had 5694
years of experience? The underlying current in this piece is that of
“wishfulfilment,” which I think, was what Broun primarily had in mind.
It makes novel reading from all angles.
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